Who We Are
Who We Are
Service firefighters have expertise in both fire suppression and prescribed fire operations. (USFWS)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. Fire is essential to managing the majority of the Service's 150 million acres, which includes 560 national wildlife refuges, 38 wetland management areas, a network of national fish hatcheries and numerous other sites in the United States and its territories.
The Service's Fire Management Program is currently administered as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System under the Division of Natural Resources and Conservation Planning, and protects and manages burnable acres on all Service lands. The program also provides mutual aid to other federal, state and local fire management agencies and is a member of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, a consortium of federal and state fire managers that determines standards for wildland fire training and operations.
The Service's team of fire management professionals has significant expertise not only in fire planning and operations, but in a range of scientific and technical areas, including fire ecology and fire science, smoke management, hydrology, wildlife and fisheries biology, forestry, range conservation, soil science and water resources.